Biomes
The many environments and habitats of Aeturn have been studied for hundreds of years by many esteemed scientists and geographers, and they categorise the world's many environs into categories known as 'biomes.' Biomes are geographical regions possessing a unique climate and topography which gives them certain unique characteristics. Though biomes may be separated by land or even by sea, as long as conditions allow, landscapes that look virtually identical can exist thousands of miles apart. Below is a list of Aeturn's biomes. Each entry contains the climate zone, type and sub-biomes of the listed biomes. Abyssal Type: '''Aquatic '''Climate: '''Any Located far too deep for light to reach, the abyssal regions of the oceans lie deep below the benthic and pelagic regions, fiercely cold, high-pressure bodies of water that span the ocean's floor. A largely featureless, dark abyss, these zones are home to some of the ocean's most terrible denizens - from pale, eyeless schools of fish to colossal sea spiders with their spiny legs. As deep and remote as these places may seem, some remnants of civilized life still exist here - from sinister races of abyssal merfolk to shadowy kal'ixi sequestered in their deep-sea strongholds. Abyssal Environments '''Sea Floor: '''For the most part, the sea-floor is exactly what it seems - a long stretch of sandy, eroding rock, floating with detritus and occasionally floating with the wrecks of long-lost ships. However look closely and much more meets the eye. Hardy corals and polyps linger here, clinging to whatever solid mass they can find, as well as small shellfish and even schools of miniscule fish scavenging scraps that fall from animals killed far above them. '''Trench: A trench is a fissure in the plate making up the sea floor. These deep, narrow caverns are without doubt the deepest points in the ocean, and thus most prone to exploration by land and sea-faring folk. Exploration into these treacherous waterways is not to be undertaken without caution, however. Trenches are rarely anything but absolutely dark, and often filled with untold danger - endless winding narrow channels, swallower eels, giant anglerfish and toxic coral are the first but not the last source of danger. Special caution must be taken not to awaken a levianth that has taken a trench as its lair - such a foolish action would spell the quick end to any would-be spelunker. Thermal Vents:' '''If one thinks of the sea floor as an immense, seemingly endless desert of rock and sand, thermal vents might be the sole oases in this desolate waterscape. These small geysers vent steam and gas from beneath the Aeturn's crust, and are often found in small ranges stretching for miles through the black. Not only do the vents provide nourishment for thousands of life-forms, including phosphorescent coral which throng the geysers, they also generate tremendous amounts of heat, resulting in a landscape without the darkness, cold and solitude that usually accompany a trip to the deep-sea. However as relatively comfortable as they sound, vents do present a different sort of danger. The perpetually hot water generates a violent upwards current that can easily sweep an adventure upwards into the black water, and even worse is the case when a geyser builds up and releases a tremendous amount of gas at once - causing an undersea explosion of tremendous power. '''Deepsea Mountains:' Deep below the sea, one might be surprised and even wary at the sight of a massive mountain, a solitary peak amidst the shallow rolling hills of sand, rock and shell. This wariness has saved many a cautious explorer. These mountains are largely artificial hives built by the illithane, and one intruding too close to these deepsea fortresses could quickly find themselves captured, mesmerized and vivisected. A rare few deepsea mountains, however, are not the creation of nefarious abyssals but natural features caused by lava surging from beneath Aeturn. These mountains are easily distinguished from their artificial cousins by their larger size, steeper cliffs and the fact that they appear in massive ranges similar to their landbound equivalents. Though safer in general then illithane nests, deepsea mountain ranges may nurture different dangers. Hostile races of merfolk often carve out holdfasts and palaces in these ranges, and malignant life might lurk in these dark undersea valleys - viperfish, shattercrabs and spineclaws are but a handful of the dangers one might face. Barnacle Forest: The sight of an immense forest several leagues wide, sprouting not trees but tall, thin slimy tendrils is alarming at first, but the learned traveller knows that these forests represent some of the safest regions of the abyss. Though the barnacle 'trees' should not be touched directly as they may be poisonous or abrasive, they are immobile and consume only scraps of organic detritus floating through the abyss. The fish found swimming through these forest are interested only in collecting the leftovers from the barnacles meals, and not interested in sampling an unwary traveller. The dense, tangled maze of siphons can be confusing and impossible to navigate, but provides cover to any adventurer from any predators circling outside the forest. Of course, this does mean that many adventurers have lost their way within one of these organic mazes, never to return. Dark Depths: Of course, the sea-floor is but one tiny facet of the abyssal environ, and the dark, swirling depths of the abyss, with no land or solid purchase in sight, and sheer, cold pressure crushing down on any adventurer unlucky enough to be trapped flailing desperately at the surrounding waters, are what one might consider to be the true abyss. The depths hold untold dangers to unprepared explorers. Most of Aeturn's terrestrial races are adapted to living above ground, and lack the ability to see in the absence of light (dwarves and goblins are key exceptions to this rule, though both races have plenty of other reasons to avoid the depths). As such, any adventurer suspended in these black, icy waters will have not just the pressure or lack of oxygen to worry about, but the possibility of unseen predators circling closer and closer to the unwary adventurer. Unlike the pelagic and benthic zones of the ocean, the abyss has scarcely any current to speak of, and anyone traversing the depths will need to move and navigate by instinct alone - a challenging prospect, given the lack of light and pressure. Occasionally, one can come across columns of heated water pushing upwards - jets of steam being pushed up through the crust of Aeturn by thermal vents deep below, but even riding these jets to the surface is a challenge, as one is just as likely to be boiled alive inside their swimming suit or sucked back down to the depths by the cold currents surrounding these upward spouts. Thankfully, few creatures call these black, featureless waterways home, but those that do are not the kindest of hosts. From predatorial levianths twice the size of their pelagic counterparts, to immense siphonophores the size of fisherman's nets and illithane scouts searching for new material to study, the depths host a variety of horrors just waiting to fall upon the rare hapless adventurer entering their cold domain.